I have a 24’x24′ basement that the previous homeowner finished with 1/2″ drywall over 2×4 wood studs without vapor barrier or insulation. The stud wall is held away from the concrete block basement walls 1/4″ – 1/2″. Sill plate is not treated wood. We are not living in the house right now because we are in the middle of an entire home remodel. It’s been very humid here in the midwest the past couple of weeks and we got some surface mildew growth on the lower 12 inches of the drywall around the perimeter of the room. We noticed it within a day or two, cleaned it off with bleach/water and set up a humidifier and fans to keep the air circulating. We also removed a section of drywall 24 inches up from the floor to see if we had further problems behind the drywall. Although the bottom 24 inches or so of the block was damp, the woods studs looked fine and the back of the drywall we removed was clean too (no mold). Since we added the fans and dehumidifier the exposed block is now dry. My question is should I put back the drywall and move on or should I remove the drywall and wood studs and start over by adhering rigid foam to the block walls before building the stud walls? This space will be air conditioned/heated year around. My other thought was to install transfer grilles every so often along the bottom and top of the walls to encourage air circulation behind with the stud cavity. Any thoughts/ideas would be appreciated.
Edited 7/27/2005 5:07 pm ET by Seamo
Replies
Personally, I'd leave the bottom 24" open for a while so I could observe what happens over the course of a few heavy rains. If the original moisture was simply a result of condensation, then the dehumidifier will take care of that (or air conditioning since you said this will be a conditioned space). I'd just want to make sure that no water is coming in due to improper drainage/runoff during rainstorms.
If running the dehumidifier keeps it dry over an extended period of time, I'd cover it back up.
I would be tempted to tear off the sheeetrock, paint BoraCare on the plates and studs, and get quote for someone to spray foam on the concrete walls and behind the studs. My only concern might be that the back of the studs will be covered in foam and I don't know if that's an "issue" close to a masonry wall in a basement. It would not be a problem in the upper floors of the house.
You will find lots of good info on http://www.buildingscience.com
Billy